Dampened railway car truck axles

ABSTRACT

A railway vehicle has a suspension system which, for each axle journal, comprises a pair of suspension springs, one forwardly of the journal and the other rearwardly thereof. The lower ends of the springs act against seats formed on a saddle structure which is guided for movement relative to a pair of guide columns which house the upper ends of the springs. At least one guide column contains a pot-like wedge structure which, through the intermediary action of a split collet, transmits a damping force to a friction pad which engages the adjacent side of the saddle.

United States Patent 11 1 1111 3,841,233

Sinclair Oct. 15, 1974 DAMPENED RAILWAY CAR TRUCK AXLES 3.245.357 4/1966Sinclair 105/207 x 3,394,662 7 1968 W b [75] Inventor: Freder'cksmclall" 3,517,620 61970 w'ibii 105/224 R x Gloucester, England [73]Assignee: Gloucester Railway Carriage & im y EXdminerM- Henson Wood.

- Wagon Company Li it d, Assistant Examiner-Howard Beltran Gloucester,England Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Young & Thompson [22] F1led: Oct. 5,1972 ABSTRACT [2H Appl 295351 A railway vehicle has a suspension systemwhich, for each axle journal, comprises a pair of suspension [52] U.S.Cl 105/224 R, 105/206 A, 105/207, p g n r ardly of the journal and theother 105/2241 rearwardly thereof. The lower ends of the springs act 51]1m. (:1. B6lf 5/34, B6lf 5/40, B6lf 5/52 against Seats formed on asaddle structure hi h i [58] Field of Search 105/207, 224 R, 224.1,guided for movement relative to a pair of guid l- 105/206 A umns whichhouse the upper ends of the springs. At least one guide column containsa pot-like wedge [56] References Cit d structure which, through theintermediary action of 21 UNITED STATES PATENTS split collet, transmitsa damping force to a friction pad 2,207,848 7/1940 Barrows 105/224.1whlch engages the adjacent we of the Saddle 2,297,863 10/1942 Barrows etal. 105/224 R 10 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PATENTEDHBT 1 51914 8.841233SHEET 1 OF 4 5E? nl/zl FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates torailway vehicles (such term including bogies for railway vehicles) ofthe type having a sprung underframe or side frames, suspension springsbeing arranged between the frames of the vehicles and saddle structuresin which the axle journals are supported.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the invention, a railway vehiclehas frame means providing, at each axle journal, spaced downwardlyextending hollow pedestal guide columns between which a saddle structurein which the journal is supported can slide to accommodate verticalsuspension movement of the frame means relative to the axle journal,friction damping means for engagement with the saddle structure beingmounted in at least one of the guide columns, and a pair of suspensionsprings each of which is mounted within and surrounded by the associatedcolumn so as to bear against an upwardly facing spring seat formed onthe saddle structure at a horizontal level lower than the journal axis,said at least one guide column containing spring abutment means movabletherein, the said one guide column and spring abutment means havingsurfaces which are inclined to the horizontal and cooperate in suchmanner that the suspension spring force loading the abutment meansresults in a horizontal force urging the latter towards the saddle,which horizontal force is applied to the damping means in that pedestalguide column so that the frictional damping force rises with the load onthe vehicle.

One set of such damping means for each saddle is generally sufficient,but if desired a set can be mounted in each pedestal guide column. Asapplied to a twoaxle, four-wheel bogie or other railway vehicle, whenone set of such damping means is provided for each saddle, it isdisposed on that side of the axle inwardly of the vehicle.

Each damping means preferably comprises a damper friction pad mountedbetween portions of a split collet arrangement which is slidable in anopening in the corresponding pedestal guide column and which grips thepad with a wedging action to urge the pad into engagement with theadjacent side of the saddle. Such a collet arrangement may be directlyengaged by the spring abutment means. The suspension springs aredesirably housed within the columns so far as is practicable, bearing inmind the necessity for clearance between the saddles and the columnssufficient to accommodate the full suspension movement. A resilient padof, for example, rubber, is preferably provided on the upper portion ofthe saddle above the journal for engagement with an abutment constitutedby a part of the frame means so as to act as a bump stop in onedirection of relative movement between the saddle and the frame means.

The saddle may be arranged with clearance so that it can float,laterally of the vehicle, between the pedestal guide columns. Thisprovides improved riding characteristics particularly on imperfecttrack, not only the vertical suspension movement but also the lateralfloating movement being damped by the friction damping means. Theaxleboxes or journals are preferably supported in the saddles in suchmanner as to allow some degree of tilting movement of the axles relativeto the saddles and thus relative to the frame means of the vehicle. Thejournal bearings may have upper convex surfaces which engage and canrock to a limited degree on cooperating reaction surfaces providedwithin the saddles.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a part-sectional side view of the suspension system of an axleof a two-axle four-wheel railway vehicle,

FIG. 2 is a part-sectional plan view of the suspension system shown inFIG. 1, the section of FIG. 2 being along the line B--B of FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a part-sectional end view of the suspension system, thesection of FIG. 3 being along the line A-A of FIG. 1 and the section ofFIG. 1 being along the line CC of FIG. 3, and

FIG. 4 is a side view of a slightly modified form of suspension system.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The suspension and dampingarrangements for each of the two wheel and axle sets of a railwayvehicle are identical and the following description accordingly relatesto the construction at one wheel journal only. Reference will first bemade to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 and a discussion will thenbe given of the different features incorporated in the secondembodiment.

In the region of the journal 10, the under-frame ll of the vehicle hastwo spaced hollow pedestal guide columns 12 and 13, the facing sides ofwhich provide guides for a saddle structure 14 in which the journalbearing means 15 is located. The saddle structure 14 includes an upperbody portion 16 which provides a housing for the bearing means 15, andat the bottom it has a pair of fore-and-aft extending limbs 17 whichprovide upwardly facing spring seats 18 for a pair of suspension springs19 the upper ends of which are received within the pedestal guidecolumns 12 and 13. The vehicle is symmetrical about its transversecentre line and the two guide columns 12 and I3 constitute inner andouter guide columns, the guide column 12 being the inner guide column.The upper end of the associated suspension spring 19 is received in whatmay be termed a floating wedge pot" 20. The suspension system of myco-pending United States Patent Application Ser. No. 166,808 alsoincludes a floating wedge pot and reference should be made to thespecification of said application for a detailed description of theconstruction and mode of operation of the floating wedge pot."

Briefly, the floating wedge pot 20 comprises a potlike structure 21 witha central bore in which the upper end of the spring 19 is received andwhich acts as a spring guide. The pot-like structure 19 is itselfreceived in the inner pedestal guide column 12 and that column presentsan inclined surface 22 which is engaged by an upwardly-facing wedgesurface 23 on the wedge pot. The wedge surface 23 is inclined upwardlytowards the saddle portion 16, and the pot 20 directly engagesfrictional damping means mounted in the inner pedestal guide column 12.The damping means comprises a friction pad 24 which engages the adjacentside of the saddle portion 16 and which is gripped between portions of acollet 25 which is guided for horizontal sliding movement in an openingin the wall of the pedestal guide column 12 and in an opening in a plate26 fixed within the column 12. The collet 25 is directly engaged by anabutment 27 on the pot 20, and the described wedge arrangement is suchthat a horizontal damping force is applied to the saddle structure 14which varies with the vertical loading of the corresponding suspensionspring 19, whereby to damp movement of the saddle with a rising loadcharacteristic.

The portion 16 of the saddle structure 14 has projecting edge flanges 28which project forwardly and rearwardly of the portion 16 and carryfriction pads 29 which engage corresponding pads 30 on the pedestalguide columns (see FIG. 2). Engagement of said flanges 28 with thecolumns 12 and 13 limits movement of the corresponding wheel and axleset laterally of the vehicle. The maximum lateral float may, forexample, be of the order of l /2 inches and both lateral and verticalmovements are damped by the friction damping means.

The journal bearing housing is located within the portion 16 of thesaddle structure which has location elements 31 to locate the housingwithin the saddle laterally of the vehicle (see FIG. 3). However, toaccommodate track unevenness and allow tilting of the axle relative tothe saddle 14, the upper surface of the bearing means is convexly curvedto allow limited relative rocking movement. As can be seen from FIGS. 1and 3, the upper surface of the portion 16 of the saddle 14 carries aresilient rubber pad 32 disposed within a well defined by an upstandingrib 33. .The rubber pad 32 is arranged to act as a bump stop" andengages a surface 34 of the frame of the vehicle at the limit of thetravel of the frame downwardly relative to the saddle 14.

The outer suspension spring 19 is substantially entirely housed withinthe corresponding pedestal guide column 13, the bottom edge of thelatter being cut away as shown sufficiently to allow full suspensionmovement of the saddle. The other spring 19, which is associated withthe damping means, is housed within its pedestal guide column 12 to alesser extent, the lower end of the column 12 being cut away to providethe inclined surface engaged by the floating wedge pot 20. However, bothcolumns surround the respective spring and house the latter to thefullest extent practical, the result being an extremely strong vehicleframe. In this respect it is to be noted that each column l2, l3contains a horizontal reinforcement plate 35, said plate 35 being formedwith an aperture which lies on the centre line of the associatedsuspension spring 19. This aperturc receives the shank ofa bolt 36 whosehead 37 rests on the plate 35. The bolt shank carries a nut 38 which isdisposed in a recess in the undersurface of the associated limb of thesaddle structure 14. Engagement of the nut 38 with the base of therecess serves to limit upward movement of the frame relative to thesaddle structure 14.

The two pedestal guide columns 12 and 13 are formed on a commonstructure, the box section formation of which (see particularly FIG. 1)provides considerable strength across the top of the columns which isthe point at which conventional railway vehicle frames tend to fracture.the increased strength construction obtained with the present inventionresulting from the formation of hollow pedestal columns which guide thesaddle structure and provide the spring housings.

The suspension system shown in FIG. 4 is substantially the same as thatshown in FIGS. 1 to 3 and the same reference numerals have accordinglybeen employed to designate corresponding parts of this suspensionsystem. The construction shown in FIG. 4 differs from that shown inFIGS. 1 to 3 as regards the configuration of the axlebox, i.e., thedimension of the axlebox in the fore-and-aft direction is greater thanthat of the axlebox shown in FIGS. 1 to 3. Accordingly, the dimension ofthe portion 16 of the saddle structure 14 has been increased as has beenthe spacing between the pedestal guide columns 12 and 13. The purpose ofthe increased spacing between the guide columns is to enableaccommodation of existing axleboxes and enables a standard design to beproduced for the production of new vehicles and the conversion ofexisting vehicles. Such vehicles may be either bogies or two-axlewagons.

What is claimed is:

l. A railway vehicle having frame means providing, at each axle journal,spaced downwardly extending hollow pedestal guide columns between whicha saddle structure in which the journal is supported can slide toaccommodate vertical suspension movement of the frame means relative tothe axle journal, friction damping means for engagement with the saddlestructure being mounted in at least one of the guide columns, and a pairof suspension springs each of which is mounted within and surrounded bythe associated column so as to bear against an upwardly facing springseat formed on the saddle structure at a horizontal level lower than thejournal axis, said at least one guide column containing spring abutmentmeans in the form of a wedge element having surfaces which are inclinedto the horizontal and cooperate with surfaces of the guide column insuch manner that the suspension spring force loading the abutment meansresults in a horizontal force urging the latter towards the saddle,which horizontal force is applied to the damping means in that pedestalguide column so that the frictional damping force rises with the load onthe vehicle, the damping means being formed separate from the wedgeelement and cooperating with means formed by the guide column wherebysaid damping means is restrained against vertical movement relative tothe guide column as a result of suspension movement of the abutmentmeans.

2. A railway vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the damping meanscomprises a damper friction pad mounted between portions of a splitcollet arrangement.

3. A railway vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the colletarrangement is slidable in an opening in the corresponding pedestalguide column and grips the pad with a wedging action to urge the padinto engagement with the adjacent side of the saddle.

4. A railway vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the colletarrangement is directly engaged by the spring abutment means.

5. A railway vehicle according to claim 1, wherein a resilient pad isprovided on the upper portion of the saddle above the journal forengagement with an abutment constituted by a part of the frame means.

6. A railway vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the saddle isarranged with clearance so that it can float, laterally of the vehicle,between the pedestal guide columns.

7. A railway vehicle according to claim 6, wherein the saddle hasprojecting flanges which overlap the sides of the pedestal guide columnsto limit lateral floating movement of the saddle.

8. A railway vehicle according to claim 1, wherein each journal is sosupported in the associated saddle as to allow limited tilting movementof the axle relative to the saddle.

9. A railway vehicle according to claim 8, wherein the journal bearingshave upper convex surfaces which engage and can rock to a limited degreeon cooperating reaction surfaces provided within the saddles.

10. A railway vehicle having frame means providing, at each axlejournal, spaced downwardly extending hollow pedestal guide columnsbetween which a saddle structure in which the journal is supported canslide to accommodate vertical suspension movement of the frame meansrelative to the axle journal, friction damping means for engagement withthe saddle structure being mounted in at least one of the guide columns,which guide column includes a vertical plate containing an opening whichreceives said damping means with the arrangement such that the dampingmeans is restrained against other than horizontal sliding movementrelative to the guide column, and a pair of suspension springs each ofwhich is mounted within and surrounded by the associated column so as tobear against an upwardly facing spring seat formed on the saddlestructure at a horizontal level lower than the journal axis, said atleast one guide column containing spring abutment means in the form of awedge element having surfaces which are situated at a horizontal levelhigher than the journal axis and are inclined to the horizontal, saidsurfaces of the wedge element cooperating with surfaces of the guidecolumn in such manner that the suspension spring force loading the wedgeelement results in a horizontal force urging the latter towards thevertical plate which is situated between the suspension spring and thesaddle, which horizontal force is applied to the damping means in thatpedestal guide column so that the frictional damping force rises withthe load on the vehicle.

1. A railway vehicle having frame means providing, at each axle journal,spaced downwardly extending hollow pedestal guide columns between whicha saddle structure in which the journal is supported can slide toaccommodate vertical suspension movement of the frame means relative tothe axle journal, friction damping means for engagement with the saddlestructure being mounted in at least one of the guide columns, and a pairof suspension springs each of which is mounted within and surrounded bythe associated column so as to bear against an upwardly facing springseat formed on the saddle structure at a horizontal level lower than thejournal axis, said at least one guide column containing spring abutmentmeans in the form of a wedge element having surfaces which are inclinedto the horizontal and cooperate with surfaces of the guide column insuch manner that the suspension spring force loading the abutment meansresults in a horizontal force urging the latter towards the saddle,which horizontal force is applied to the damping means in that pedestalguide column so that the frictional damping force rises with the load onthe vehicle, the damping means being formed separate from the wedgeelement and cooperating with means formed by the guide column wherebysaid damping means is restrained against vertical movement relative tothe guide column as a result of suspension movement of the abutmentmeans.
 2. A railway vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the dampingmeans comprises a damper friction pad mounted between portions of asplit collet arrangement.
 3. A railway vehicle according to claim 2,wherein the collet arrangement is slidable in an opening in thecorresponding pedestal guide column and grips the pad with a wedgingaction to urge the pad into engagement with the adjacent side of thesaddle.
 4. A railway vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the colletarrangement is directly engaged by the spring abutment means.
 5. Arailway vehicle according to claim 1, wherein a resilient pad isprovided on the upper portion of the saddle above the journal forengagement with an abutment constituted by a part of the frame means. 6.A railway vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the saddle is arrangedwith clearance so that it can float, laterally of the vehicle, betweenthe pedestal guide columns.
 7. A railway vehicle according to claim 6,wherein the saddle has projecting flanges which overlap the sides of thepedestal guide columns to limit lateral floating movement of the saddle.8. A railway vehicle according to claim 1, wherein each journal is sosupported in the associated saddle as to allow limited tilting movementof the axle relative to the saddle.
 9. A railway vehicle according toclaim 8, wherein the journal bearings have upper convex surfaces whichengage and can rock to a limited degree on cooperating reaction surfacesprovided within the saddles.
 10. A railway vehicle having frame meansproviding, at each axle journal, spaced downwardly extending hollowpedestal guide columns between which a saddle structure in which thejournal is supported can slide to accommodate vertical suspensionmovement of the frame means relative to the axle journal, frictiondamping means for engagement with the saddle structure being mounted inat least one of the guide columns, which guide column includes avertical plate containing an opening which receives said damping meanswith the arrangement such that the damping means is restrained againstother than horizontal sliding movement relative to the guide column, anda pair of suspension springs each of which is mounted within andsurrounded by the associated column so as to bear against an upwardlyfacing spring seat formed on the saddle structure at a horizontal levellower than the journal axis, said at least one guide column containingsPring abutment means in the form of a wedge element having surfaceswhich are situated at a horizontal level higher than the journal axisand are inclined to the horizontal, said surfaces of the wedge elementcooperating with surfaces of the guide column in such manner that thesuspension spring force loading the wedge element results in ahorizontal force urging the latter towards the vertical plate which issituated between the suspension spring and the saddle, which horizontalforce is applied to the damping means in that pedestal guide column sothat the frictional damping force rises with the load on the vehicle.